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BS"D
As a child growing up, I would always look forward
to summer. It meant two months free of school. It meant all
the fun things to do in day- or sleep-away camp. It meant
swimming, etc.
It was therefore strange to always find that during
this wonderful time of year we would have the ultimate time of mourning.
True, some aspects of mourning could be found during the Sephirah
period between Pesach and Shavuos, but that was minor compared to
the three weeks (including the Nine Days) that run from the 17th
of Tammuz 'til Tisha B'Av. It seemed so out of place.
We have a very famous story in the Talmud, of
a group of Rabbis walking by the Temple Mount shortly after the
destruction. When they saw a fox running through the ruins,
they began to cry. After all, this was part of the horrible
picture that the Prophet Jeremiah pictures in the Book of Lamentations.
To their surprise, one of the Rabbis laughs and is rejoicing.
"Why are you rejoicing?" they ask. "Why are
you crying?" he responds. "Because this is exactly
the destruction that is described 500 years ago by the Prophet"
they explain. His response, "If that has come to be exactly
as the Prophet has said and is true, so too will the words of the
Prophet about the Final Redemption and return of Jerusalem and Israel
be exactly as the Prophet has said".
The Midrash tells us that Moshiach will be born
on Tisha B'Av. It is in the very act of destruction the seeds
of Redemption begin to flourish. It is during this wonderful
time of year that we need to appreciate the Destruction.
It is only when we appreciate the Destruction
that we will be merited to participate in the true rebuilding of
Jerusalem and the Temple with the coming of Moshiach. Amen!
Rabbi Joseph D. Krupnik
Additional Readings:
The
17th of Tammuz - from www.ou.org
A
Chronology of Destruction - The Three Weeks... - from www.ou.org
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